Lighten up with panko
FEW foods have solidified their reputation as a new essential ingredient quite like panko.
While generations of cooks and chefs had been content with conventional breadcrumbs, in just the past decade this surprisingly light and delicate Japanese variation has become ubiquitous. The combination of feather lightness and irregular shaping means that panko can cook to a degree of crispness that conventional breadcrumbs can’t match. And never underestimate the importance of crunch in making food appear more delicious.
That distinctiveness all comes down to how they are made. Traditional breadcrumbs are, predictably, made from traditional bread. It is allowed to stale, then crumbled and dried in a low temperature oven.
Panko is made from bread that has never been baked. Not raw, but there is no heat involved at all. The salty dough is pressed into blocks between large metal sheets while a strong electrical current is blasted through.
The electricity causes the starch molecules to explode and thicken, while it also denatures the protein (the definition of cooking).
Yet in the absence of heat, no crust is formed and the texture remains astonishingly fluffy.
The idea of electricity bread originated with Japanese troops during World War II who, in the absence of ovens, got creative in the efforts to get some loaves on the table. It’s a really interesting way of thinking about cookery, yet can’t be applied to most foods as it requires a high level of salinity in order for the electricity to be conducted.
CRUMBED PORK CUTLETS WITH HUMMUS AND SALSA serves / 4 Ingredients
4 x 200g pork cutlets 1½ tsp celery salt ½ cup plain flour 2 eggs, beaten 2 cups panko breadcrumbs Vegetable oil, for deep frying 1 red onion, diced 2 lebanese cucumbers, seeded and diced 4 tomatoes, seeded and diced 1 red capsicum, seeded and diced ¼ bunch mint leaves 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil Juice of 2 limes Hummus and lime wedges, to serve.
Method
1. Season the pork cutlets with celery salt, then dust with flour. Dip in egg, then crust with panko. Fry in hot (180C) vegetable oil for 8-10 minutes, until browned and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper. 2. Toss the vegetables and mint, season with salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil and lime juice. Serve with hummus and lime wedges.